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Anna Nicole Smith has taken her case all the way to the Supreme Court.
 With an oil fortune on the line, former stripper Anna Nicole Smith encountered a sympathetic audience at the Supreme Court on Tuesday. Several justices said they were concerned that the one-time Playboy Playmate was kept from pursuing a piece of her late husband’s fortune. “It’s quite a story,” said Justice Stephen Breyer.
Smith married oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II in 1994 when he was 89 and she was a 26-year-old topless dancer in Texas. Marshall died the following year. His fortune has been estimated at as much as $1.6 billion. One of his two sons claims he is the only heir.
Breyer said there was evidence that the son hired private detectives to keep Smith away from her elderly husband’s bedside. Smith’s claim is simple, said Justice David Souter, “just give me the money I would have had.”
Justices repeatedly referred to the amount of money at stake, and criticized arguments that only a Texas court had jurisdiction to settle the nasty family feud. “That’s just not the way our system works,” said Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the only woman justice.
About two dozen photographers swarmed Smith and her attorney as they left through a side door of the court building after the hearing, then sped away in a black SUV. Earlier, when she arrived, several photographers were knocked to the ground in their zeal to get a picture of Smith, dressed in a knee-length dress, high heels and black sunglasses.
Smith, the spokeswoman for a diet product company, was awarded $474 million by a federal bankruptcy judge. That was later reduced by a federal district judge and then thrown out altogether by a federal appeals court on jurisdictional grounds. The high court’s eventual ruling will determine whether Smith gets another chance at part of Marshall’s estate.
The justices are dealing with a technical question: When may federal courts hear claims that involve state probate proceedings? Smith lost in Texas state courts, which found that E. Pierce Marshall was the sole heir to his father’s estate.
Huge crowds packed the court. “Most people will do a double take,” said Edward Morrison, a former Supreme Court clerk who specializes in bankruptcy law at Columbia University. “It raises the novelty level and makes a technical issue somewhat more entertaining.” Douglas Baird, a bankruptcy expert at the University of Chicago, said: “I’d suspect some justices haven’t the slightest idea who Anna Nicole is.”
The Bush administration is siding with Smith as a technical matter, arguing that the justices should protect federal court jurisdiction in such disputes.
Marshall showered Smith with $6.6 million in gifts that included two homes, $2.8 million in jewelry and $700,000 in clothes, and she contends that he also promised her half his estate. Pierce Marshall said various wills and trusts his father prepared over the years made him the only heir.
A federal court ruled in 2002 that Smith was entitled to compensatory and punitive damages because Pierce Marshall altered, destroyed and falsified documents to try to keep her from receiving money from his father’s estate. He denies any wrongdoing, and that decision was thrown out.
The case is Marshall v. Marshall, 04-1544.
She looks good in her court clothes. A better black dress than this one, from last year’s Comedy Central Roast of Pamela Anderson:
Although perhaps not as good as this one:
It depends what you’re going for, I guess.
Update: Wizbang Pop! used a variant of our title and has more pihotos.
Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick does her take on the case under the headline “Rack and Ruin” and concludes,
It seems cruel to report that Anna Nicole then stood and exited the courtroom, leaving the building by a side door and again granting no interviews. I would love to tell you that she did something, anything, to distinguish herself from the thousands of appellants who have brought their cases into these marble walls. But the court has worked its magical spell of blandness, even upon Anna, and she is just another litigant with a probate dispute today. She has stepped into the only place in America where her breasts have no power.
Heh–she said breasts. No photos of said breasts, however. Not that photos of Anna Nichole Smith’s breasts and, indeed, her nude form in general, are difficult to come by on the Internets.
Dennis Weaver has died of cancer. He was 81.
 Dennis Weaver, the diffident deputy Chester Goode in the TV classic western “Gunsmoke” and the canny New Mexico deputy solving New York City crime in “McCloud,” has died. The actor was 81. Weaver died of complications from cancer Friday at his home in Ridgway, in southwestern Colorado, his publicist, Julian Myers, announced Monday.
“He was a wonderful man and a fine actor and we will all miss him,” Burt Reynolds, who played alongside Weaver in “Gunsmoke,” said Monday.
Weaver was a struggling actor in Hollywood in 1955, earning $60 a week delivering flowers when he was offered $300 a week for a role in a new CBS television series, “Gunsmoke.” After nine years as Chester, who he played with a stiff-legged gait, he was earning $9,000 a week. When Weaver first auditioned for the series, he found the character of Chester “inane.” He wrote in his 2001 autobiography, “All the World’s a Stage,” that he said to himself: “With all my Actors Studio training, I’ll correct this character by using my own experiences and drawing from myself.” The result was a well-rounded character that appealed to audiences, especially with his drawling, “Mis-ter Dil-lon.”
 At the end of seven hit seasons, Weaver sought other horizons. He announced his departure, but the failures of pilots for his own series caused him to return to “Gunsmoke” on a limited basis for two more years. The role brought him an Emmy in the 1958-59 season.
In 1966, Weaver starred with a 600-pound black bear in “Gentle Ben,” about a family that adopts a bear as a pet. The series was well-received, but after two seasons, CBS decided it needed more adult entertainment and canceled it. Next came the character Sam McCloud, which Weaver called “the most satisfying role of my career.” The “McCloud” series, 1970-1977, put the no-nonsense lawman from Taos, N.M., onto the crime-ridden streets of New York City. His wild-west tactics, such as riding his horse through Manhattan traffic, drove local policemen crazy, but he always solved the case.
 I watched “McCloud” as a kid and saw “Gentle Ben” in reruns. While I was aware of Weaver’s role on “Gunsmoke” and have seen a handful of episodes with him, I always think of Ken Curtis’ Festus as the deputy on that show.
It’s amusing that Weaver was proudest of his work on “McCloud” given that he won an Emmy for “Gunsmoke.” But I guess being the leading man is more satisfying than being the oaf sidekick. Coincidentally, Don Knotts, who played the ultimate oaf sidekick Barney Fife on the “Andy Griffith Show,” also died over the weekend.
One thing I didn’t know about Weaver until doing some research for this post is that he was president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1973-77. He has some pretty prestigious company in that regard.
crosspost from OTB
Lost in all the controversy over the recent Vanity Fair cover featuring a tastefully nude Keira Knightley and Scarlett Johansson is this fine contribution of Angelina Jolie, showing not only her famous tiger tatoo but much of her hindparts:
Such an injustice can not be allowed to continue.
For more photos of Jolie’s tiger tatoo but, alas, not her rear end, see OTB Prime.
CPG has proclaimed that former “Lost” cast member and “Fog” star “Maggie Grace is hot.”
Maggie Grace probably shouldn’t have left âLostâ to star in “The Fog”. After all, everyone’s seen “Lost”, but I have yet to watch anyone who will admit to having seen the Godawful “The Fog” remake. Anyways, here’s Maggie in a slinky red dress at some celebrity show/auction/charity whatever. Doesn’t she just look ravishing in red?
He provides several photos of Grace in said red dress and she is certainly quite attractive. The one below, however, is the closest that I can get to determining whether she is “hot.”
I decided that further research into the issue was required.
Based on this preliminary assessment, I would have to concur. I do not considered this research to be concluded, however.
OC star Misha Barton is apparently in the running to play Supergirl in a major motion picture.
In recent news, the lovely Mischa’s career is looking to the heights, as she is apparently at the top of a list of candidates to bring Supergirl back to the big screen.
“If Superman Returns does as well as expected this summer then Supergirl will be pushed into the schedule,” reveals one movie insider. “There are a few actresses in the reckoning and Mischa is at the top of that list.”
She looks good in boots and tights, at least.
Thankfully, “break bread” is not a new euphemism for sex. Jessicia Simpson was invited to the New Mexico governor’s mansion for dinner so that Bill Richardson could show appreciation for her coming to the state to film her new movie, “Employee of the Month.”
Jessica Simpson took a break from filming her latest movie to dine with Gov. Bill Richardson, his wife and others at the governor’s mansion. Simpson, who is in Santa Fe filming “Employee of the Month,” ate with the governor Thursday night. The film is the fifth shot in New Mexico by Lions Gate Entertainment, an independent production and distribution studio.
“The governor feels very strongly about getting involved personally to promote New Mexico’s film industry,” Richardson spokesman Pahl Shipley said. Richardson has rolled out the red carpet for other celebrities. Most recently, he dined at the mansion with Irish actor Liam Neeson.
I’m guessing Richardson enjoyed this more than the encounter with Neeson. Especially if she dressed like this for the occasion:
And, especially, if she didn’t sing.
by Leopold Stotch
From Stephen Taylor comes some sad news:
Don Knotts, TV’s Lovable Nerd, Dies at 81 (AP)
Don Knotts, who kept generations of TV audiences laughing as bumbling Deputy Barney Fife on “The Andy Griffith Show” and would-be swinger landlord Ralph Furley on “Three’s Company,” has died. He was 81.
Knotts died Friday night of pulmonary and respiratory complications at a Los Angeles hospital, said Paul Ward, a spokesman for the cable network TV Land, which airs his two signature shows.
Griffith, who remained close friends with Knotts, said he had a brilliant comedic mind and wrote some of the show’s best scenes.
“Don was a small man … but everything else about him was large: his mind, his expressions,” Griffith told The Associated Press on Saturday. “Don was special. There’s nobody like him. “I loved him very much,” Griffith added. “We had a long and wonderful life together.”
[...]
The West Virginia-born actor’s half-century career included seven TV series and more than 25 films, but it was the Griffith show that brought him TV immortality and five Emmys.
The show ran from 1960-68, and was in the top 10 of the Nielsen ratings each season, including a No. 1 ranking its final year. It is one of only three series in TV history to bow out at the top: The others are “I Love Lucy” and “Seinfeld.” The 249 episodes have appeared frequently in reruns and have spawned a large, active network of fan clubs.
I have almost no recollection of The Andy Griffith Show, so Knotts to me will be remembered as the flamboyant would-be stud from Three’s Company. Mr. Furley’s leisure suits and jokes about Jack Tripper’s faux homosexuality were hilarious, and that show stands as an interesting snapshot of a strange era in American sociopolitical culture.
 Update James Joyner: Sad news, indeed. I’m older than Stotch but even I didn’t watch Don Knotts play Barney Fife when the show was on. Indeed, he played the character from 1960-1965, before I was born. Still, I have probably seen every episode numerous times in the intervening years.
I have often said that “The Andy Griffith Show” was the best television show of any genre ever made. My wife, growing up as she did in New England, did not have the cultural advantages that I did and had never seen the show. We are currently rectifying that situation and watching every episode, in order, on DVD via Netflix.
Knotts won an Emmy as Best Supporting Actor each of the five years he played Barney Fife. If there was ever a better sitcom character over a sustained period, I haven’t seen it. Andy Griffith, already a well-established comedic actor and stand-up comic when the show began, quickly realized that Knotts was stealing the show. Rather than try to grab the best lines for himself, he became the straight man and let Knotts have even more camera time. The result is the best five year run of any sitcom, ever. The three subsequent seasons, all in color rather than the black and white of the Knotts era, were fine but nowhere near as good.
Here’s a much more recent photo of Griffith and Knotts, taken for the “TV Land Awards,” 7 March 2004:
Wikipedia provides a concise career summary:
After being a regular performer in the soap opera Search for Tomorrow from 1953 to 1955, he gained additional exposure in 1956 on Steve Allen’s variety show, appearing in Allen’s mock “Man in the Street” interviews, always as a man obviously very nervous about being on camera.
Knotts’s portrayal of Deputy Barney Fife on the American television sitcom The Andy Griffith Show earned him five Emmy Awards. After leaving the series in 1965, Knotts starred in a series of film comedies: The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964), The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966), The Reluctant Astronaut (1967), The Shakiest Gun in the West (1968) and The Love God? (1969).
In the late 1960s and early ’70s, he served as the spokesman for Dodge trucks and was featured prominently in a series of print ads and dealer brochures.
In the 1970s, Knotts and Tim Conway starred together in a series of slapstick movies, including the 1975 Disney film The Apple Dumpling Gang, and its 1979 sequel, The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again.
Knotts returned to series television in the late 1970s, appearing as landlord Ralph Furley on Three’s Company, after Audra Lindley and Norman Fell left the show to star in a short-lived spinoff series (”The Ropers”). Knotts remained on the show from 1979 until it ended in 1984. In 1986, he reunited with Andy Griffith in the 1986 made for television movie Return to Mayberry, where he reprised his role as “Barney Fife”. From 1989 to 1992, Knotts again co-starred with Grittith, playing a recurring role as pesky neighbor Les Calhoun on Matlock.
In 1998, Knotts made a cameo as the mysterious TV repairman in Pleasantville, and seven years later performed as the voice of Mayor Turkey Lurkey in Chicken Little (2005) (his first Disney movie since 1979).
My understanding is that Griffith and Knotts met when they starred in the 1955 Broadway hit “No Time for Sergeants.” They reprised their roles in the 1958 film of the same name. If you haven’t seen it, you owe it to yourself to do so. Like most films about the military, the basic training (or, technically, in this case Air Force recruit induction center) sequence was much better than the rest of the picture. Still, when you see Griffith’s terrific comedic performance as Will Stockdale and then realize that Don Knotts stole his own show away from him two years later, you really appreciate Knotts’ unique talent.
Update 2: Mac Stansbury and Barney’s Hometown have more.
Crosspost from OTB
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Related:
Sheryl Crow had surgery for breast cancer last week but apparently caught the disease in time.
Even as pop star Kylie Minogue recovers from breast cancer, pop and country singer Sheryl Crow, who recently broke her engagement with Tour de France winner cyclist Lance Armstrong, has been diagnosed with the malignant disease.
A statement posted on the singer’s Web site said that she had undergone surgery for the malignancy on February 22 and would be postponing her North America tour to receive radiation therapy. “I am joining the more than 200,000 women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. We are a testament to the importance of early detection and new treatments,” Crow said in the statement.
She also urged women to go for regular checkups to ensure early diagnosis and thus, better chances of complete cure. “I am inspired by the brave women who have faced this battle before me and grateful for the support of family and friends,” added the 44-year-old singer.
The statement added that the surgery was ‘minimally invasive’. “Her doctors think her prognosis is excellent,” said Dave Tomberlin, Crow’s publicist.
Meanwhile, former fiancé Lance Armstrong, who survived testicular and brain cancer to become a seven-time Tour de France winner, said the news was ‘devastating’ to him. “Once again I’m reminded of just how pervasive this illness is, as it has now touched someone I love deeply. Based on my contact in recent days with Sheryl, her doctor and her family, I am confident that she will have a full and complete recovery and the world will be a better place for it,” he said in a statement, urging Crow’s fans to keep her in their ‘thoughts and prayers’.
Nicky Hilton has unveiled a new fashion line.
Amid gawking stargazers and a grinding mix of ’70s rock, socialite/designer Nicky Hilton unveiled her new upscale fashion line at a hip Las Vegas nightclub. Nicky Hilton Beverly Hills is the sequel to Hilton’s Chick, a tween-targeted casual wear line that was launched in 2004.
Hilton, 22, said her latest creations are “clothes my friends and I could wear,” adding that her designs will sell for far less than what she and her friends could afford to pay. “This ain’t Prada,” said the hotel heiress, who is the sister of “The Simple Life” star Paris Hilton.
She was one of several celebrities promoting their clothing lines at the MAGIC fashion industry trade show this week. Along with actress Jaime Pressly, hip-hop star Nelly and sports stars Magic Johnson and Randy Moss â all pushing their lines â the convention drew more than 100,000 designers, buyers and manufacturers to the Las Vegas Hilton.
I was trying to remind myself why it was again that Paris, the trashy one, is so much more famous than Nicky, the cute one. In searching through Yahoo’s Paris and Nicky Hilton photo montage (accompanying the story), I think I have discovered the answer:
  
CPG conjectures on the possibility of Erica Campbell, Playboy’s 2005 Playmate of the Year, as Wonder Woman in an upcoming motion picture. While they think it unlikely a PMOY could pull off a starring role in a big budget picture, they like the way she fills out the costume.
(Update: The full-sized photo of Erica Campbell in a Wonder Woman costume has been removed after receiving notice from the copyright owner that its use was in violation of their rights. I have retained this thumbnail of the full-sized photo of Erica Campbell in a Wonder Woman costume as a fair use representation of that image.)
Can’t say that I disagree but she’s a little tarty looking to play comicdom’s favorite Amazon. More pics at the link.
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